Carney: Republicans to Blame for Slack GDP

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, the spokesman for the blame-free administration, suggested today the Republicans were at fault for the sudden CONTRACTION in GDP, asserting the the economy faces “headwinds” created by the GOP.

I'll just tell them it's not your fault.

Let’s be clear. That GDP contracted by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 reflects concern about the Fiscal Cliff and decreases in government spending, particularly on Defense. Both the fiscal cliff and government spending cuts exist because President Obama did nothing serious in his first four years to reduce overall government spending. He failed to take leadership on the dramatic cuts needed to entitlements, something that would have given markets and businesses confidence in the future of the economy.

And now some chickens are coming home to roost, as someone said, and cuts must be made – or if Obama gets his way, taxes raised – and it’s going to continue to harm the economy.

Carney today blamed Republicans for failures to strike a deal, failures past and present. This is not leadership. It’s standard petty political posturing. And many disagree that earlier failure to strike bargains were John Boehner’s fault.

The facts, as Carney likes to say, are that the economy has grown at an average of 2 percent over the past two years and unemployment is near 8 percent. That is really lousy, by any objective standard, especially emerging from a recession.

Obama – let me check – yes, Obama has been president that whole time. The White House can bring up some new unique cause every time they get more bad news, but the fact is there is always some factor that ain’t working. What happens in good economies is that other factors override it and create growth.

But that hasn’t happened. And the fault lies with the president, not Congress.

42 Responses to Carney: Republicans to Blame for Slack GDP

I’m surprised they didn’t blame hurricane Sandy. When we have leadership and a growing economy we can absorb hits like Sandy without it effecting GDP. Yep, must have been the Republican’s fault! If they want to blame someone then they need to look in the mirror.

The tax increase on the ‘rich’ has already been spent on the Sandy bailout. Why doesn’t someone ask Carney about that ? Keith,…I really enjoy this site, but isn’t it time that somebody in the press takes this puss on ? This is disgusting ! He’s a damn fool ! Why do you let him get away with it ? Congress allows Obama to squat in office, and the press corp laps up the milk like kittens that Carney is feeding you. Yeah, you will say that rules are rules, and if you invoke the ire of the anointed one, you will lose your pass to the press room. I get that, but who is working for whom ? Obama is going to continue to poke the Americans until they rise up and take the Country back. The press is deplorable for allowing this scenario to continue.

that clown will never accept responsibility for anything that he does or has done. i’m supprised that he accepts the 2 daughters he has or that he had anything to do with them being here. this givemecrat is a total moron!!

Let the beatings begin. Doesn’t matter if it isn’t true, blaming the flaccid economy on Republicans will be the talking point of every Democrat politician, their fellow travelers in state-run media, and the useful idiots who buy their propaganda hook, line, and sinker.

The really scary part is knowing the US economy is basically on life support, even with the fed pumping $85 BILLION a month into it. Rick Santelli is right – “We are now Europe”.

Fault can be spread pretty far and wide – and thickly too! Heck with the knife – how about using a converted fire hose…. Of course, like a complex water leak, the ample one-liners in this op-ed offer little substance save where to cast blame – and where not too.

We all get the analogy that in Football, quarterbacks get too much credit and too much blame. Not when it comes to Obama. No sir.

What is funny (pathetically so) is the lack of, heaven forbid, credit – for “anything positive” – anything. The basic MO is always the same. If it is bad or even just smells funny, blame it on Obama. If it is good, it is really “not good” and folks are clueless – blame it on Obama. If it is indeed good, this is so IN SPITE of Obama – bless the GOP who had the special vision to get it done right.

The typical favorite scenarios in recent history are with the Clinton era. Of course, it was the Republican Led Congress that should receive 100% of the glory for all good news from these 8 years – getting the job done IN SPITE of Clinton. Contrast Reagan (who ran up more debt than a remote oil-worker on a 8 year binge). Reagan got ‘er done due to his superior skills at building alliances and brokering deals with a lame Democratic led Congress – ride ‘em cowboy style… Onward Reagan soldiers, marching as to…

Parse, parse, parse…

This particular op ed reminds me of that old attorney joke about questioning a defendant (i.e., Obama):

Counselor strides to a place in front of the defendant and confidently stares at Obama with a knowing penetrating gaze; adjacent to the jury who possess an angular, shadow-laden, perspective of the attorney.

“A yes or no question”, states the lawyer. “Tell me, President Obama, have you stopped beating your wife?”

Turning slightly to pan the jury in full perplexed glory, he adds “I remind the President, you are under oath.”

Interesting point; what did MrObama do within the confines of his office that is good and laudable. In all honesty, I can’t think of one thing he did that was right, good, or made things better for us.

I come up with the dreaded Obamacare, the escalation of fighting from the Middle East to Africa, the failed stimulus, making our beloved NASA into a lovefest for Muslims, the bailout of the UAW, the waste of money on alternate fuel dream factories, oh, so much more. If you have a fav list of accomplishments he can claim, go with it.

Good leaders care little about credit or blame. They just get in and work to get the job done. A great quote:

“Character in many ways is everything in leadership. It is made up of many things, but I would say character is really integrity. When you delegate something to a subordinate, for example, it is absolutely your responsibility, and he must understand this. You as a leader must take complete responsibility for what the subordinate does. I once said, as a sort of wisecrack, that leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

When this President decides he wants to be a “leader” perhaps more credit will be given him.

The trust of the people in the leaders reflects the confidence of the leaders in the people. – Paulo Freire

I’m not surprised by any of this. This is Alinsky 101. After you divide, minimize and deflect blame, you go onto over load the system (the 47%) and then sit back and watch.

After the collapse of everything, you can come in and reshape the country into what you want it to look and act like. Obama has followed all of Alinsky’s strategies, and done so successfully with the help of the MSM. I see this continuing until mob rule takes hold, and then the “government” will have to really step in and regain control. We will have a tyranny of the minority if things don’t change soon.

For all the GOP out there who keep flipping on one policy decision after another, I have one question. What does this administration have on you to make you change your views so often? If it is incriminating photos, emails, or other things that would be personally embarrassing, I would remind you of what Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and PM of Britain is attributed as saying, “Publish and be damned.” If your personal shenanigans are so embarrassing as to cause you to change side in a debate, then you are not fit for office. It is your duty to put aside your personal concerns, and do what is right for the Republic.

As Holmes would say, “The game is afoot” and we dare not fall prey to the machinations of the left, and their attempts to silence us. The GOP is in a position to make its case to the Republic and the world, but it seems that too many of them have skeletons they wish to keep hidden, and therefore fall into the trap.

Every time a Republican talks about the economy, it needs to have “Obama” attached to it. The Obama economy contracted. The Obama economy is lackluster. The Obama Double-Dip Recession. The Rising Obama Unemployment Rate. Make these claims so loudly and so boldly that the left has to defend themselves.

The Dems can’t have it both ways. If they insist that the Repubs are the party of big business, oil interests and greedy profiteers, then it can’t be the Repubs fault because their goal is a booming economy.

If the economy stumbles and falters, then those with all the power to regulate the business community must be at fault. That would be the Dems.

The logic that having a lofty goal – like “a booming economy” – relieves ***any*** party or administration as a source of resulting problems may be a tad faulty. By that standard Germany was looking pretty sweet for nearly 2 decades…

The simple fact / reality. We live in a mixed economy. There are no absolutes. Well, there are, but just in theory. As you have well said many times, Governments have roles to play. They must regulate and control, but to what degree…

Ah! No one knows. We never have; historically or now. Governments guess, and the slippery slope is stepped upon… Trying to locate that balance point where the principles of free enterprise generate the most for the most… As if that is not already impossible, add the “moving target” of rapid change to the equations, i.e., globalization, pace of production, population rates, and the basics of infrastructure / global supply chain. Yikes…

Well, at least Ricardo’s theories are getting a good workout…as well they should…

RT, you’ve made some great points. Virtually all the “rules” are out the window as the world’s economy absorbs things like globalization, “the cloud”, population migration and the like. I do think as a result that now more than ever, government needs to let the free market run. The people closest to the market know it best, thats if anyone does. My sense is that the current Administration is more than a few steps behind the market. There is no substitute for a human being who decides “I see an opportunity to make money here” and is willing to take the risks. Let those type people go, encourage them and I think we’d see a turnaround in our economic fortunes.

RickW – Thanks and sure thing – points well taken. As Reagan said (and many before and after him ) the best and the brightest are not necessarily working in government… Behind they ALWAYS are…

The train wreck with which governments are now contending is this: Very big money folks have learned NOT to take the big risk! Oh, I ain’t talking the average entrepreneur.. I am talking folks who have learned to shift huge risks to unsuspecting yokels like you and me – who have modest retirement accounts or are trying to retire / save.

Derivatives, default credit swaps, deferred sheltered treatment of overseas income, blah, blah, blah. I know some pretty smart financial folks and they cannot really explain some of this “stuff”. What we all get is that smart folks will decrease or mitigate risk whenever they can to offset the investments they have to make to gain competitive advantage in the market… Past a certain point, it gets ugly. Look at 2007 – 2008.

Without the risk, the equation that is fairly represented by the invisible hand of competition no longer provides the sound basis from which most free enterprise arguments are made. Let’s face it, some rat bastards have figured out how to game the system at a level that affects entire countries and, to that end, the world. We ain’t talking a guy cheating the system out of 50K due to a tax treatment – though that “adds up”…

The whole risk / reward thing got broke recently. No risks (shifted risk), big rewards. We could also talk the “value add” to the system, but I need to go workout. A shoemaker makes a shoe and sell it. Got it. An executive at AIG makes 50 Mil for screwing investors, priceless…

Good point Ironfire. I am with you. If it were only that easy!. We could chuck the Constitution and live of a few (many may argue one) principles from the Bible. We all know them and they are easily understood… Good to go!

THAT’s funny. It’s more like 13%-14% if you use a normal labor force participation rate. That is the rate which King O and his minions have been fudging for the last 4 YEARS to make the stated unemployment rate appear lower.

Higher than that if you use some other charts for calculations we did away with in the 90’s…

These charts are well published William. To your point, if one is fat, dumb, happy, and employed and lives around others that are as well, the “real world” plight in America is not fully understood. If academically understood, not often appreciated. Of course, this is true of the “average” American having any appreciation for what it is like to live in other parts of the world. Another topic…

Example in support of your points. Homeless folks. Take a nice rich little area of the country like, say Orange County. There are 45K+ Homeless men, women, and children living there. OM Goodness…

Something is broke. U2 or any other report is just a metric and all of them need to be evaluated in context. Sometimes, seeing with the eyes provides a better basis from which to drive change.

Well Sparky and Barry can just bite me! Honestly those grandiose claims absolutely beggar belief. No matter how much they whine and complain the only ones buying it are those already drunk on Obama Kool Aid.

Amazing! It is quite telling and humorous that the last couple of days prior to the election, they were giving us self proclaimed fantastic numbers for how well the economy was doing in October, yet now blame Republicans. What happened after the first month of the quarter and prior to the last two months of the quarter is quite simple. Obama was re-elected! Now we are paying the price! For all of those who voted for the idiot, you get what you voted for! It is too bad the rest of the country must also suffer, but as for you GOOD! SUFFER!

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